Invest funds to alleviate the nursing shortage.

• Amends Medicare to provide for nurse education training payments to qualified entities.
• Amends Medicaid to temporarily increase the matching rate for Medicaid nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs.
• Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the exclusion from gross income of amounts received under the National Nursing Service Corps Scholarship Program.
• Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) develop and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the nursing profession, highlight the advantages and rewards of nursing, and encourage individuals from diverse communities and backgrounds to enter the nursing profession; and (2) award grants to designated eligible educational entities in order to increase the number of nurses.
• Establishes a National Nurse Service Corps Scholarship program that provides scholarships to individuals seeking nursing education in exchange for service by such individuals in areas with nursing shortages. Authorizes appropriations.

Collect data on birth defects and present to the public.

Directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to carry out programs to:
• collect and analyze, and make available data on the causes of birth defects and on the incidence and prevalence of such defects;
• operate regional centers for the conduct of applied epidemiological research on the prevention of such defects;
• provide information and education to the public on the prevention of such defects;
• collect and analyze data by gender and by racial and ethnic group9/6/2004
• collect such data from birth and death certificates, hospital records, and such other sources; and
• (3) encourage States to establish or improve programs for the collection and analysis of epidemiological data on birth defects and to make the data available.